If You Like Pina Coladas
by Akiko-hime
Summary: Ravenna makes herself a nuisance to Clopin, but there's more to her than meets the eye...
1. If You Like Pina Coladas

A/N- This came to me after my best friend and I walked around the lake by my apartment complex and started picking up all the trash in and by the water. Then I came back with dirty water all down the back of my shirt and shorts because the trash bag I was carrying on my shoulder was leaking. 'Kaasan got so pissed. Anyways, I just got this thought in my head, and I decided to write it down. So...enjoy.  
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"Oh, look! Look at the duckies!"  
"Oh, how cute!"  
"Oh, my gosh, look!"  
"What? Whatwhatwhat?"  
"That clump of garbage there! Like metal stuff and crap!"  
"Here, here's a long stick."  
"Okay, hold on a sec."  
"Be careful...careful!"  
"Ow! This grass is prickly!"  
"Okay, you've got it!"  
"Ah! I'm slipping! Whoa!"  
Pah-LOOSH!  
"Oh, my God, are you okay?"  
"Ick...yeah...this water's filthy."  
"Okay, here, grab on."  
"Okay, got it."  
"You sure?  
"Yeah. On three. One, two, THREE!"  
"Ooof!"  
"Sorry!"  
"Oww! Oh, man, I think I broke something."  
"Here, let me see."  
"Oww! Don't poke it!"  
"Ooh. Looks like a sprain. Here, lean on me, we need to get going."  
"Owowowowowwwww!"  
  
Clopin Trouillefou looked up as the Place de Notre Dame went quiet. Whispers started floating around, and all heads were turned away from where Clopin was performing. Miffed, he pushed through the crowd to find the culprit. What he saw made him double up in laughter.  
Ravenna Melilot and Josette Trouillefou-DeLoncre were standing there, sopping wet, cattails in their hair and green muck all up to their knees, leaning on each other and dragging a large cloth sack full of soaking wet, filthy garbage.  
Josette frowned. "Clopin, shut up. We were trying to help."  
"By rolling around in the Seine?"  
Ravenna snorted. "No, genius. We were picking up trash. Some of this stuff could be cleaned up, fixed, and sold or used."  
Clopin shook his head. "You interrupted my performance. That's not very nice."  
"Forgive us, your Highness," Josette said mockingly. They both knew Clopin hated to be called by title unless necessary. Clopin sighed. "Well, you should get cleaned up before your performance."  
Josette sighed. "Sure." She started to walk, but stepped on her foot wrong and fell to the ground with a small cry. Clopin was by her side in an instant. "Are you all right?"  
Ravenna winced as she was pulled down beside her friend. "She sprained her ankle. I fell on top of her after I slipped."  
Clopin gave Ravenna a long look. Josette sighed. Her brother had been wary around Ravenna ever since she'd arrived two weeks before. (For more info, read my prequel, 'If You Like Pina Coladas...') There was no reason, really. He just seemed to get a bad vibe about her or something. Ravenna noticed the look and blushed. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to clean the river. There were baby ducks in there. They could have gotten hurt. I didn't mean to cause trouble. It...It was an accident," she finished in a whisper. Clopin just shook his head again, pressing his lips together. Ravenna tried to help her friend up, but Clopin stopped her, scooping his little sister up in his arms. Ravenna bit her lip. "I'm really sorry."  
Josette smiled lightly. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt unless I do this." She moved her foot and winced, but smiled when it made Ravenna grin warily. "Well then, don't do that."  
Clopin frowned and turned away, leaving Ravenna standing in the street with a hurt look on her face. 


	2. Truly, Madly, Deeply

Sucking in a deep breath, Ravenna peeked into the tent Josette shared with her husband, Jean-Marc DeLoncre. When she found it empty, she turned to Clopin's tent. As she neared it, she heard voices arguing.  
"...an accident, and you know it!"  
"All I'm saying is that maybe you shouldn't stay around her so much! She's always getting you two into one scrape or another, and it won't be long before she gets someone killed!"  
"Don't you dare say that! Ravenna is a good person! It wasn't her fault she slipped. I was the one who wanted her to get the trash."  
"Ravenna Melilot is only trouble!"  
"She's my best friend, Clopin! If you'd give her half a chance, maybe she'd be your friend, too! Just spend some time with her, you'll see! She's a wonderful friend!"  
"I don't want to spend time with her! She's irresponsible, careless, clumsy and daft!"  
Ravenna bit back tears and stumbled away, bumping into another Rom as she tried to turn.  
"Ow!"  
"Oof!"  
Ravenna scrambled up as Clopin poked his head outside his tent to see what the noise was about. Josette hobbled after him and paled at the sight of her best friend so very close to tears.  
"Ravenna-"  
Bursting into tears, Ravenna jumped up and raced for the exit.  
Josette glared at Clopin, who looked down at her, bewildered. "You, you...you lousy knave!"  
"What?"  
"She heard you! She heard every word! How can you be such a heartless bastard! You're as bad a Frollo!"  
Jerking away, Clopin tried to reenter his tent, only to find his sister blocking the way. "No. You go follow her and apologize."  
"But-"  
"Now!"  
With a long-suffering sigh, the King of Gypsies left the Court in search of a person he couldn't stand.  
  
Ravenna smiled at the baby ducks as they splashed around. Their mother was sitting on the shore next to the lonely girl. With a soft sigh, Ravenna stood to leave. The duck looked at her curiously, and she sat down again, holding out her hand to the bird. When she came closer, Ravenna stroked her head. "Hi, Mama-Duckie. Are you watching your babies carefully like you should be?"  
Clopin stopped on the bridge when he heard a soft, sad voice singing under the very bridge he was on. He sat on the edge and listened.  
'I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy,  
I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need,  
I'll love you more with every breath, truly, madly, deeply, do  
I want to stand with you on a mountain  
I want to bathe with you in the sea  
I want to lay like this forever  
Until the sky falls down on me..."  
Smiling, Clopin decided to see who the singer was. He ducked under the bridge when the figure started talking.  
"You think it's pretty? Mama always said I had a pretty voice, but I don't think so. And judging by the way Clopin acts, he doesn't think so either."  
The King blinked in surprise at the sight of Ravenna talking to several squirrels that were perched on her head and shoulders. She fed them some of the bread she was munching on.  
"Who's Clopin? Well, he's kind of the King of the Gypsies here in Paris. You see, I came here a few weeks ago, and I made friends with his sister. She's really nice, and she's willing to overlook all my...my weirdness. I mean, look at me. I'm a freak of nature. I can't ever do anything right, and I always seem to get the people I care about in trouble. Like today. Josette and I were walking along the river, and looking at the ducks, when I saw some trash. So Josette hands me this long stick and helps me down to the water's edge so I can get the trash out. We'd been doing that all day. It was Josette's idea, of course. She thought we could clean up the stuff and sell some of it. You see? She's smart, and I'm kind of dumb. Anyway, I slipped and fell in the water. Josette picked up the stick and held it out so I could get out of the mud, but she pulled too hard, and I fell on her. She sprained her ankle. When we got the le Place de Notre Dame, Clopin got all mad at me because of Josette's ankle. I know it was my fault. Maybe if I hadn't fallen in the river, it wouldn't have happened. I didn't mean to. I was just trying to help Josette. And then he...he..." Ravenna stopped, swallowing hard and blinking back tears. She smiled when one of the squirrels nuzzled her cheek, and she reached up and patted it's head. "Merci, ma petite chose. But anyway...I know I do everything wrong. I just don't understand how a brother and sister can be so different. But I suppose, since he's the king, he has to look out for his real subjects. He probably just doesn't have the time to deal with a good-for-nothing, pathetic freak like me."  
Clopin winced. "You're not a freak, M'mselle."  
Ravenna sat up straight, sending the squirrels scurrying away. "Monsieur Seigneur!" She looked down. "What are you doing here?"  
"Looking for you."  
Ravenna snorted, turning away as she stood. "Why? Come to add insult to injury? Forget to call me an incompetent, abnormal ass, because you can forget it, I've heard it all before!"  
Clopin sighed heavily. "Ravenna...I'm not here to insult you or anything."  
"Then why are you here?"  
Clopin opened his mouth, then closed it. Scowling, he turned away. "I just wanted to say...that I...I...I think you should start practicing your dancing skills, because with Josette's ankle being injured, we need another dancer for the Festival."  
Ravenna chose to ignore the rude insinuation behind Clopin's words and turned back around, eyes wary. "You...want me to dance? At the Festival?"  
"Providing you can manage without falling over."  
But Ravenna couldn't even hear Clopin. She smiled widely, and suddenly, Clopin saw why Josette had made friends with her. Her smile was honest and natural, making her navy-blue eyes turn cerulean and her cheeks dimple. She clapped her hands, hugging Clopin tightly. "Oh thank you, thank you so much, Your Highness! I swear, I'll do my best! I won't mess up, I promise!"  
Clopin stiffened in surprise, but soon found himself unable to push her away. Her petite form molded comfortably against his, and her warmth was intoxicating. With a grunt, he pulled away, brushing off his sleeves melodramatically. He looked up, but Ravenna had disappeared. He was about to leave, when a whistle from above him made him look up. Ravenna was waving at him from the bridge, leaning precariously over the edge. She mimicked being overbalanced, then laughed and started to skip away. Then she stopped and ran back, calling over the edge.  
"Are you coming?"  
With another heavy sigh, Clopin followed, wondering what kind of trouble she'd get him into. 


	3. Wind Beneath My Wings

"Hey, look!"  
Clopin rolled his eyes and looked. "It's a bird."  
Ravenna smiled. "Ah, but it is so much more. It's a tiny, frail creature, and yet it has so much life, so much energy. It's an earthly creature, and yet it can soar above our heads, above the clouds, and touch the moon. It has so many stories to tell, if you only listen."  
Clopin looked at Ravenna in wonder as she knelt down, her plain green skirt fanning out around her. Holding out her hand, she whistled a bit. "Here, little bird. Come tell me your tales, sing me a ballad of the sights you've seen."  
The king was startled when the bird took flight and alighted on her finger, whistling a merry tune. Ravenna giggled, whistling back, and the bird replied.  
Clopin knelt next to her, curiosity overwhelming him. "What is it saying?"  
Ravenna smiled. "He says he is delighted to meet the King of Argot, and wishes us good day. He also says he heard my singing."  
"As did I."  
With a blush, Ravenna patted the bird's head. "Oh?"  
"Yes. You are a...fair singer."  
Ravenna looked away. "No need to be tactful around me. I know I can't sing."  
"No, no, you misunderstand me. I think you're a good singer. You had just better hope you can dance."  
"I've never tried before."  
Clopin looked at Ravenna in disbelief. "Never?"  
"Well, I always assumed I was too clumsy to manage it properly."  
"Well then," said Clopin with a shrug, "We shall have to find another dancer."  
At the heartbroken expression on the poor girl's face, Clopin changed his mind.  
"…or…Someone could teach you."  
"I'd like that. Would you teach me?"  
"Well, I am the best dancer in the Court…aside from Esmerelda and Josette."  
Ravenna smiled prettily and kissed the bird's head, then let it fly away. She watched it go with a wistful expression. "Sometimes," she whispered, "I dream that I will grow wings and fly away from here…to a place where I'll fit in, and be loved."  
"You are loved here. Josette thinks of you as a little sister."  
Ravenna pressed her lips together. "I am older than Josette."  
"But you are young at heart, which comes of being born and raised outside of Paris."  
"I suppose."  
Clopin stood suddenly, took Ravenna's hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Come with me."  
  
And this is how our tale begins… 


End file.
